1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to connecting a plurality of data sources to a single chip. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved system and method for fast Ethernet serial port multiplexing to reduce the number of input/output pins required on each chip for a given number of sources.
2. Background Art
As semiconductor chips become more powerful, they have become capable of processing more information and handle more inputs and outputs through connections such as Ethernet ports. Unfortunately, at the same time the semiconductors have become more powerful and capable of processing larger loads, these same semiconductors are becoming smaller in physical size, leading to smaller surface areas in which to attach pins (or leads) for the greater number of ports or sources. This leads to a paradox: smaller and more powerful processors are capable of supporting more ports from a processing stand point but as the size shrinks, there is less area in which to attach the leads and therefore the smaller package would suggest that fewer, rather than more, ports be attached.
Each physical layer connection requires at least one input port and one output port. One approach in the prior art is to have each input or physical layer connection as a separate set of pins on the chip. When a small number of physical layer connections is involved for a given chip, this is a manageable number of input and output pins for connection to the chip.
However, as the number of physical layer connections increases in a system where each connection requires its own set of input/output pins, the chip must grow larger to have enough space to accommodate the increased number of pins. However, as has been stated previously, the trend in chip design is toward smaller chips, meaning less room for attachment of the pins, and, therefore, a chip which can accommodate fewer connections with input/output pins.
Other disadvantages and limitations of the prior art systems will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the following description of the present invention.